Plural interfaces in home network with first component having a first host bus width and second component having second bus width

ABSTRACT

Universal network interfaces for a home network connect disparate components to the network, such as relatively complex components (TVs, computers) and relatively simple components (audio boom boxes).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/779,400, filed Feb. 16, 2004, which claims priority from U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/520,591, filed Nov. 17, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to home entertainment systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

Home entertainment networks have been provided that can include aset-top box media server that communicates with various components inthe home, e.g., TVs, laptop computers, custom display devices, phones,and other electronic devices. Home network communication technologies(e.g., 802.11 wireless, UWB (Ultra Wide Band), PLC (Power LineCommunication), etc.) are widely used as their costs decrease. Ascritically recognized herein, not all devices that may be desired to beplaced on the network have the same internal hardware architecture and,hence, one network interface does not fit all. For example, an Ethernetcard for a personal computer (PC) usually has a PCI interface and PCIready, and the Ethernet card can be mounted to an expansion PCI slot inthe PC to establish a network interface, while an inexpensive audioproduct, for example, a boom box, might use an inexpensive 8-bitmicro-controller and a conventional 8-bit wide internal bus, thusrequiring another kind of network interface than the PC. Simplyinstalling a PCI bus in such a relatively inexpensive device is tooexpensive and meaninglessly too fast for such a cost-sensitive audioproduct. Accordingly, to connect various disparate products to the homenetwork, an inexpensive and flexible network interface is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A home entertainment network includes a network path and a firstcomponent, such as a server or TV, having a data bus of a first buswidth. The network also includes a second component, such as an audioplayer, having a data bus of a second bus width, with the second buswidth being different from the first bus width. Respective networkinterfaces connect each component to the network path.

In the preferred embodiment each network interface includes at least onedata stream port, a host bus interface communicating with a host bus ofthe respective component, and a network communication port communicatingwith a common network backbone. A switch can selectively connect thenetwork communication port of a network interface to either the host businterface or to the data stream port. The host bus interface of anetwork interface may be configured (by, e.g., the respective component)to have a bus width equal to the bus width of the component with whichit is associated.

In preferred embodiments each network interface includes at least onepacketizing/depacketizing component between the switch and the networkcommunication port. Also, each preferred network interface includes aninternal bus establishing at least a portion of a communication pathbetween the host bus interface and the network communication port,whereby the host bus interface can communicate data directly to thenetwork communication port, bypassing the packetizing/depacketizingcomponent.

In another aspect, first and second interfaces are disclosed forcommunicating data in a home network having at least a server, a firstcomponent having a first host bus defining a first bus width, and asecond component having a second host bus defining a second bus width.The first interface includes a host bus interface configured forcommunicating data with the first host bus and having the first buswidth. The first interface also has at least one data port, a networkport connectable to the network, and a switch selectively connecting thenetwork port to either the host bus interface or data port. Likewise,the second interface includes a host bus interface configured forcommunicating data with the second host bus and having the second buswidth. The second interface also has at least one data port, a networkport connectable to the network, and a switch selectively connecting thenetwork port to either the host bus interface or data port. Theinterfaces are identical in configuration and operation except for thebus width of the respective host bus interfaces.

In yet another aspect, a home entertainment system includes a firstcomponent having a first host bus with a first bus width andcommunicating with a network using a first universal network interface.The system also includes a second component having a second host buswith a second bus width and communicating with a network using a seconduniversal network interface. Each universal network interface has arespective host bus interface that is configurable for communicatingwith a component host bus of the respective component. The universalnetwork interfaces are identical to each other at least prior toconfiguration of the respective host bus interfaces.

In still another aspect, a home entertainment system includes a firstcomponent having a first host bus with a first bus width andcommunicating with a network. First universal network interface meansare provided for interconnecting the first component with the network. Asecond component has a second host bus with a second bus width, and thesecond component communicates with the network. Second universal networkinterface means interconnect the second component with the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of the present invention, both as to its structure andoperation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the server;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a client TV with a PCI host bus;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a client audio component with an eight orsixteen bit host bus;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the PLC Interface of the present invention;and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a protocol stack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a home entertainment network is shown,generally designated 10, that includes a server 12 having a processor orprocessors 14 that may be housed in a set-top box or personal videorecorder (PVR) or other component. The server 12 can receive televisedcontent from an antenna, satellite dish, cable, etc. for display of thecontent on one or more of the below-described system components. Theprocessor 14 alternatively can be incorporated into the housing of a TVto function in accordance with the disclosure herein, or it can beimplemented by plural processors (e.g., one in a PVR and one in the TVor set-top box) acting in concert with each other. Or, the server 12 maybe implemented by a computer such as a PC or laptop.

The preferred server 12 shown in FIG. 1 includes one or morecommunication systems as disclosed further below, including, forexample, a wireless communication system such as an 802.11 communicationsystem and/or a wired communication system. The wireless communicationsystem can be an (IR) system or rf system or other wireless system,while the wired communication system (as shown in the exemplaryimplementation shown in FIG. 1) can be a power line communication (PLC)network or other wire network, such as an IEEE 1394 bus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the server 12 can receive a TV signal from a cableline 16 and/or from a modem 18 such as a cable or xDSL modem. Also, ifdesired the server 12 may access the Internet through the modem 18. Ifdesired, a DVD player 20 may be connected to appropriate audio/videoports of the server 12, which can send and receive audio/video streamsand commands over a power line 22 through a server power plug 24. Thepower line 22, in a wired network, essentially establishes a networkbackbone.

The network 10 shown in FIG. 1 may also include one or more clientdevices that have internal host buses configured for communication usingfirst parallel data capacities, e.g., that can have internal PCI buseswith a bus width of 64 bits or 128 bits. One such device is a client TV26 that receives an audio/video stream and exchanges commands over thepower line 22 through a TV power plug 28. Furthermore, the network 10shown in FIG. 1 may also include one or more client devices that haveinternal host buses configured for communication using second paralleldata capacities, e.g., that can have relatively simple internal 64 Kbytebuses with a bus width of eight bits or sixteen bits. One such device isa client audio system 30 such as a boom box that receives and decodesaudio data sent from the server 12. The audio data may be a live programfrom the cable network or music data stored in an internal HDD (HardDisk Drive) of the server 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the client audiosystem 30 may communicate with the power line 22 through an audio powerplug 32.

Now referring to FIG. 2, the details of one non-limiting exemplaryserver 12 may be seen. As shown, the server may include a Video Interminal 34 and an Audio In terminal 36 that can be analog input portsfor a legacy analog device such as the DVD player 20 shown in FIG. 1. Ananalog NTSC video signal from the Video In terminal 26 can be convertedto digital in a video analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 38 andMPEG-encoded in an MPEG encoder 40. Similarly, an analog audio signalfrom the Audio In terminal 36 may be converted to digital by an audioADC 42 and MPEG-encoded in the MPEG encoder 40, which, in accordancewith principles known in the art, multiplexes the audio and videosignals and outputs a multiplexed stream.

In accordance with present principles, the MPEG stream from the MPEGencoder 40 can be sent directly (through a line 43) to a PLC Interface44, the details of which are described further below in reference toFIG. 5. In addition or alternatively, the multiplexed output MPEG signalmay be sent to the PLC Interface 44 through an internal host bus 46 thatcan be, for example, a PCI bus having a bus width of sixty four (64)bits. As shown in FIG. 2, the PLC Interface 44 communicates with thepower line 22 shown in FIG. 1 through the server power plug 24. Othercomponents of the server 12 are also connected as shown to the host bus46.

Additionally, the server 12 may receive an analog cable signal at acable terminal 48, and that analog cable signal can be tuned anddemodulated in a tuner/frontend 48 in accordance with cable principlesknown in the art. A video output from tuner/frontend 48 can be digitizedby a cable video ADC 50 and MPEG encoded in a cable MPEG encoder 52.Similarly, an audio output from the tuner/frontend 48 can be digitizedby a cable audio ADC 54 and MPEG encoded in the cable MPEG encoder 52,the output stream from which is sent to the PLC Interface 44 directlyand/or through the internal host bus 46.

FIG. 2 shows that the processor 14 of the server 12 also communicateswith the host bus 46. It is to be understood that the processor 14controls the server 12 constituent parts and runs the control softwareprogram stored in a memory 56. If desired, an input device such as butnot limited to a keypad 58 can be used to send input data to theprocessor 14 through the bus 46. An output device such as but notlimited to an LCD display 60 can display data from the processor 14,such as, for example, tuning status, network status, active AV ports,error messages, etc. If desired, the modem 18 shown in FIG. 1 may beconnected to an ethernet port 62 which in turn is connected to anethernet interface 64 and thence to the bus 46.

Also, a hard disk drive (HDD) 66 can be connected to the bus 46 throughan Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) Interface 68. Audio/video andother data sent through the bus 46 can be stored in the HDD 66. Forexample, the above-mentioned MPEG encoder outputs can be recorded in theHDD 46. Also, if desired the ethernet interface 64 can receive data fromthe Internet and send it to the HDD 66. Since the bandwidth of a PCI bustypically is more than 500 Mbps, and a typical MPEG-HD stream rate is 20Mbps, the bus 46 has enough bandwidth to simultaneously carry severalMPEG streams.

Now referring to FIG. 3, the details of one preferred non-limiting PCIclient, and for example the TV 26, can be seen. The TV power line plug28 is connected to a TV PLC interface 70 the principles of which, likethose of the server's PLC interface 44, are described more fully belowin reference to FIG. 5. As shown, the TV PLC interface 70 is connectedto a demultiplexer 72 directly and to the TV's host bus 74, which in thepreferred embodiment is a PCI bus that runs at a bus width of, e.g.,sixty four (64) bits. The demultiplexer 72 is also connected to the hostbus 74 as shown. Other components of the TV 26 are also connected asshown to the host bus 74.

In accordance with MPEG principles known in the art, the demultiplexer72 separates the audio from the video, with audio data being sent fordecoding to a audio decoder 76, analogized by an audio digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) 78, amplified by an audio amplifier 80, and played on aspeaker 82. On the other hand, video from the demultiplexer 72 is sentto a video decoder 84 for decoding, and then to a mixer 86 to, ifdesired, mix in graphics from a graphics engine 88 with the video. Thesignal is then sent to a video DAC 90 for analogizing and then to adisplay driver 92 for driving a video display 94 in accordance with thedemanded image represented by the video signal.

The TV 26 also preferably includes a processor 96 accessing the internalhost bus 74 of the TV for controlling the components of the TV 26. It isto be understood that some bus connections may be omitted for clarity inFIG. 3. Also, the processor 96 runs the control software program storedin a memory 98. If desired, an IR Interface 100 can receive commandsfrom a remote commander 102 in accordance with TV remote controlprinciples known in the art. The commands are sent to the processor 96through the bus 74 as shown. In any case, through the respective PLCinterfaces 77, 44, the TV processor 96 and server processor 14 canexchange asynchronous data (commands, data, etc.) with each other overthe power line 22 shown in FIG. 1.

Now referring to FIG. 4, an example of a client having a simplerinternal host bus than, e.g., a PCI bus is shown, and in particular theclient audio system 30 is shown. As was the case with the TV 26, theclient audio system 30 communicates information over the power line 22shown in FIG. 1 through its respective power line plug 32, which isconnected to an audio client PLC interface 104, the principles of which,like those of the server's PLC interface 44 and TV PLC interface 70, aredescribed more fully below in reference to FIG. 5. The audio client PLCinterface 104 sends data directly to an audio decoder 106 for decoding,and also sends and receives data from an internal host bus 108, to whichthe other components of the client 30 are also connected as shown. Thehost bus 108 shown in FIG. 4 can be, for example, an inexpensive 68k-type bus with a bus width of eight (8) bits. The output signal fromthe decoder 106 is analogized in an audio client DAC 110, amplified atan amplifier 112, and played over a speaker 114. The audio client 30 mayalso include a simple processor 116 that communicates with the host bus108 and with a memory 118. The processor 116 shown in FIG. 4 runs thecontrol software program stored in the memory 118. The user can entercommands (playback, pause, skip, etc.) using an input device such as butnot limited to a key pad 120, with the commands being sent to theprocessor 116. The processor 116 can exchange asynchronous data(commands, data, etc.) with the processor 14 of the server 12 throughthe power line 22 shown in FIG. 1.

The details of the PLC interface of the present invention can now beseen in reference to FIG. 5. As shown, the PLC interface preferably hasat least one and more preferably at least two dedicated bidirectionaldata stream ports, labelled “Stream I/F 1” and “Stream I/F 2” in FIG. 5,each of which is connected to a respective port interface 122, 124. Theport interfaces 122, 124 are configurable to send or receive, forexample, an MPEG stream or a digital visual interface (DVI) stream oraudio stream.

In the case of the PLC interface 44 of the server 12, the associateddata stream ports “Stream I/F 1” and “Stream IF 2” are respectivelyconnected to the MPEG encoders 40, 52. In the case of the PLC interface70 of the client TV 26, at least one of the associated data stream ports“Stream I/F 1” and “Stream I/F 2” is connected to the demultiplexer 72.In the case of the audio client 30, at least one of the associated datastream ports “Stream I/F 1” and “Stream I/F 2” is connected to the audiodecoder 106.

As shown in FIG. 5, each port interface 122, 124 is connected to arespective switch 126, 128 that is controlled by a controller PLCinterface controller 130 to connect the stream I/F/ports either to a PLChost bus interface 132 or to respective processing lines 134, 136.

Importantly, the preferred host bus interface 132 is an interface thatis configured to communicate with an external host bus, for example oneof the host buses 46, 74, 108 shown in FIGS. 2-4 (respectively, theserver host bus, the TV host bus, and the audio client host bus).Accordingly, when the PLC interface of the present invention is used ina PCI application (such as the server 12 and TV 26), it is configured asa PCI type bus and has a bus width accordingly, e.g., sixty four bits.On the other hand, when the PLC interface of the present invention isused in anon-PCI application such as for the audio client 30, it isconfigured appropriately, e.g., for a 68k-type bus having a bus width ofeight or sixteen bits.

Returning to FIG. 5, each processing line 134, 136 includes a respectiveencryptor/decryptor 138, 140 that encrypts (for sending) or decrypts(during receipt) of a stream, for example, based on, e.g., the DigitalTransmission Content Protection format. Each encryptor/decryptor 138,140 is connected to respective packetizer/depacketizer 142, 144 thatpacketizes (for sending) or depacketizes (for receipt of) the stream andtimestamp each packet. Each packetizer/depacketizer 142, 144 isconfigurable as appropriate for the particular type of data beingprocessed. One or a combination of several protocols can be chosen, forexample, RTP and UDP/IP. With more specificity, in the case of incomingdata, for instance, the data is RTP-packetized first and thenUDP/IP-packetized.

Each preferred processing line 134, 136 also includes a respectiveFirst-In First-Out (FIFO) Buffer Memory 146, 148 that temporarily storeincoming or outgoing data. The FIFOs 146, 148 are in turn connected to aMedia Access Controller (MAC) 150 which is connected to a Physical Layer(PHY) component 152 to control data based on the power line networkprotocol. The MAC controller 150 may have a secondaryencryptor/decryptor if desired. For example, the utility known as“HomePlug 1.0” uses 56-bit DES for the secondary encryption. The PHYcomponent 152 is connected to an Analog Frontend (AFE) 154 that filtersand amplifies the input/output analog signal from/to the power line 22shown in FIG. 1. Thus, a network communication port that communicateswith the backbone of the network is established at the output of the AFE154.

Although not all bus connections are shown, it is to be understood thatpreferably, all of the components discussed above in the PLC interfaceare connected to a PLC internal bus 156. The host bus interface 132 isalso connected to the PLC internal bus 156, as is the PLC controller130, a memory 158, and configuration registers 160.

In operation, the external host, for example, the processor 14 of theserver 12, writes or reads the configuration registers 160 through thehost bus interface 132 of the server's PLC interface to control the PLCinterface. All the components in the PLC interface are connected to theinternal PLC bus 156 and are controlled by the PLC controller 130, thesoftware program for which can be stored in the memory 158.

It may now be appreciated that in this way, the host bus interface 132may be configured as appropriate by the processor of the particularnetwork 10 component with which it is associated to have the appropriatebus width. Or, it can be configured at manufacture to have a particularbus width and then used only on those network components that have acomplementary bus width.

When the component with which the PLC interface shown in FIG. 5 is in atransmission mode, a stream is received by one or both of the portinterfaces 122, 124 and sent along the appropriate processing line 134,136 for processing as described above. In this mode, the switches 122,124 are in position “a” in FIG. 5. In the MAC controller 150, the streamis rendered into data units that are appropriate for transmission, e.g.,a header can be attached to each data unit, with the header includinginformation on the transmitter and the destination (ID, etc.). Theskilled artisan will appreciate that when receiving data, the dataessentially flows backward from the above flow. It is to be understoodthat the processing lines 134, 136 are independent of each other, suchthat one can transmit while the other is receiving.

When transmitting, the transmission may be either isochronous orasynchronous. In the isochronous mode, a certain access slot is reservedat every bus cycle of the network. The data is sent without waiting foror disturbed by other communications. Each packet interval remains thesame on the reception side because the packet is output based on itstimestamp. In the asynchronous mode, transmission is performed only whenthe network is not occupied by other communications. If the networkstays busy for a long time, the FIFOs 146, 148 might overflow.Accordingly, when the FIFO occupancy is more than a certain threshold,the PLC controller 130 can request the source device to stop sendingdata. As is known in the art, the asynchronous mode uses no timestamp.

Having described the operation of the processing lines 134, 136 of thePLC interface of the present invention when the stream I/F 1 and 2 portsare used, attention is now turned to the operation of the host businterface 132, wherein the switches 126, 128 are in position “b” in FIG.5. According to present principles, when the host bus interface 132 isused, data is processed by the processing lines 134, 136 in the same wayas when a dedicated port 122, 124 is used, with the followingexceptions. More options are afforded when using the host bus interface132, because the host bus interface 132 can send incoming data from theparticular host bus (e.g., the host bus 46, 74, or 108 shown in FIGS.2-4, respectively) directly to the MAC 150 when encryption andpacketizing are not required when, for instance, the data already ispacketized before it arrives at the PLC interface. In the receive mode,the MAC 150 can send the data directly to the host bus interface 132,such that depacketizing can be performed outside of the PLC interface.This mode is preferred to send a short command that does not requireencryption or time stamping.

In general, the host bus 46/74/108 associated with a PLC interface isnot isochronous. Access slots are not reserved. Thus, when anisochronous packet is received, some tolerance is required intimestamp-based packet injection. Also, the host bus might be busy whenthe time of the timestamp arrives, in which case the packet is output tothe host bus once it is idle. Consequently, the FIFOs 146, 148 must belarge enough to buffer incoming data without overflow until the host busbecomes accessible.

In addition to the above operation, both of the dedicated data streamports 122, 124 and the host bus interface 132 can be usedsimultaneously. In this case, the MAC 150 handles two streams for thededicated data stream ports and one or more other streams for the hostbus interface 150. Directions and isochronous/asynchronous mode of eachstream can be configured independently.

With the above structure, the server 12 can send a cable TV program tothe TV 26 and a video stream from the DVD player 20 to another clientTV. Simultaneously, the server 12 can send an audio stream to the clientaudio system 30. In this case, the dedicated ports 122, 124 of theserver PLC interface 44 are used for the two video streams and the hostbus interface of the server PLC interface 44 handles the audio streamfrom, e.g., the HDD 66. The host bus interface can send more streams ifmore bandwidth of the server host bus 46 is available.

FIG. 6 shows a non-limiting example of a communications protocol stackthat can be used with the present invention. An application layer 162such a an MPEG transport stream is placed at the top of the stack. Asecond layer 164 is a DTCP layer, which as mentioned above is processedby the encryptor/decryptor 138, 140 of the PLC interface. The nextlayers are RTP/RTCP 166 and RTSP 168, TCP 172 and UDP 170 layers, andbelow those an IP layer 174. The packetizer/depacketizer 142, 144 of thePLC interface handle packetizing. The two bottom layers are a MAC layer176 and a PHY layer 178, which are respectively executed by the MAC 150and PHY 152 of the PLC interface. As will be apparent to the skilledartisan, when transmitting, data is processed from the top to thebottom, and when receiving, from bottom to top.

One application of the network 10 described above is an audioserver-client system. The server uses a fast PCI bus to simultaneouslysend several audio streams to clients. Audio streams read from theinternal HDD are sent to the PLC interface over the PCI bus. No fast busis used in an inexpensive audio client. The host is an 8-bit legacy busor a simple I2C bus. A received stream is sent to the decoder using thestream interface port.

The principles above can be applied to other networks, for example,802.11 wireless or UWB networks. The host buses may be serial buses, forexample, an I2C bus. Instead of using an RTP/UDP/IP stack, any otherprotocol stack can be applied. Usually, a simpler, fewer-layer stack isused for isochronous transmission to avoid redundant overheads. Atypical example is the IEEE 1394 isochronous protocols, which is simplerthan the asynchronous case.

With the present PLC interface, data stream interfacing is flexible. Thebest interface can be selected for transmitting or receiving. Bothdedicated data stream ports and the host bus interface can be usedsimultaneously. Furthermore, the direction and isochronous/asynchronousmode of each stream is independently configurable. Additionally, thepacketizer/depacketizer block is configurable. One or more protocols canbe selected, e.g., RTP/UDP/IP, and the same hardware fits all protocols.Still further, each (de)packetizer may be independent. For example, onepacketizer can handle TCP/IP and another can handle RTP/UDP/IP at thesame time.

While the particular UNIVERSAL NETWORK INTERFACE FOR HOME NETWORK asherein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining theabove-described objects of the invention, it is to be understood that itis the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and isthus representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplatedby the present invention, that the scope of the present invention fullyencompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilledin the art, and that the scope of the present invention is accordinglyto be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in whichreference to an element in the singular means “at least one”. Allstructural and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described preferred embodiment that are known or later come to beknown to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporatedherein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the presentclaims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or method to addresseach and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention, forit to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element,component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, ormethod step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element hereinis to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixthparagraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for”.

1. A home entertainment network, comprising: at least one network path;at least a first component having a data bus of a first bus width; atleast a second component having a data bus of a second bus width, thesecond bus width being different from the first bus width; andrespective network interfaces connecting each component to the networkpath.
 2. The network of claim 1, wherein each network interface includesat least one respective data stream port.
 3. The network of claim 2,wherein each network interface includes at least one respective host businterface communicating with a host bus of the respective component. 4.The network of claim 3, wherein each network interface includes at leastone respective network communication port communicating with a commonnetwork backbone.
 5. The network of claim 4, wherein each networkinterface includes at least one respective switch selectively connectingthe respective network communication port to either the respective hostbus interface or the respective at least one data stream port.
 6. Thenetwork of claim 3, wherein the host bus interface is configured to havea bus width equal to the bus width of the component with which it isassociated.
 7. The network of claim 6, wherein the component configuresthe host bus interface.
 8. The network of claim 5, wherein each networkinterface includes at least one packetizing/depacketizing componentbetween the switch and the network communication port.
 9. (canceled) 10.First and second interfaces for communicating data in a home networkhaving at least a server, a first component having a first host bushaving a first bus width, and a second component having a second hostbus having a second bus width, comprising: the first interface includinga host bus interface configured for communicating data with the firsthost bus and having the first bus width, the first interface also havingat least one data port, a network port connectable to the network, and aswitch selectively connecting the network port to either the host businterface or data port; and the second interface including a host businterface configured for communicating data with the second host bus andhaving the second bus width, the second interface also having at leastone data port, a network port connectable to the network, and a switchselectively connecting the network port to either the host bus interfaceor data port, the interfaces being identical in configuration andoperation except for the configuration of the respective host businterfaces.
 11. The interfaces of claim 10, wherein the host businterface of each interface is configurable to have a bus width equal tothe bus width of the component with which it is associated.
 12. Theinterfaces of claim 11, wherein the components configure the host businterface of their respective interfaces.
 13. The interfaces of claim10, wherein each interface includes at least onepacketizing/depacketizing component between the switch and the networkport.
 14. (canceled)
 15. A home entertainment system, comprising: atleast a first component having a first host bus with a first bus widthand communicating with a network using a first universal networkinterface; and at least a second component having a second host bus witha second bus width and communicating with a network using a seconduniversal network interface, each universal network interface having arespective host bus interface configurable for communicating with acomponent host bus of the respective component, the universal networkinterfaces being identical to each other at least prior to configurationof the respective host bus interfaces.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein each component configures the bus width of the host businterface of the respective universal network interface.
 17. The systemof claim 15, wherein each universal network interface includes at leastone data stream port.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein each universalnetwork interface includes at least one network communication portcommunicating with a common network backbone.
 19. The system of claim18, wherein each universal network interface includes at least oneswitch selectively connecting the network communication port to eitherthe host bus interface or the at least one data stream port.
 20. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein each universal network interface includes atleast one packetizing/depacketizing component between the switch and thenetwork communication port.
 21. (canceled)
 22. A home entertainmentsystem, comprising: at least a first component having a first host buswith a first bus width and communicating with a network; first universalnetwork interface means for interconnecting the first component with thenetwork; at least a second component having a second host bus with asecond bus width and communicating with the network; and seconduniversal network interface means for interconnecting the secondcomponent with the network.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein eachmeans for interconnecting is established by a universal networkinterface having a respective host bus interface configurable forcommunicating with a component host bus of the respective component, theuniversal network interfaces being identical to each other at leastprior to configuration of the respective host bus interfaces.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23, wherein each component configures the bus width ofthe host bus interface of the respective universal network interface.25. The system of claim 24, wherein each universal network interfaceincludes at least one data stream port.
 26. The system of claim 25,wherein each universal network interface includes at least one networkcommunication port communicating with a common network backbone.
 27. Thesystem of claim 26, wherein each universal network interface includes atleast one switch selectively connecting the network communication portto either the host bus interface or the at least one data stream port.28. The system of claim 22, wherein each universal network interfaceincludes at least one packetizing/depacketizing component between theswitch and the network communication port.
 29. The system of claim 28,wherein each universal network interface includes at least one internalbus establishing at least a portion of a communication path between thehost bus interface and the network communication port, whereby the hostbus interface can communicate data directly to the network communicationport, bypassing the packetizing/depacketizing component.
 30. The networkof claim 1, further comprising a server having a third network interfacecommunicating with the network, wherein the first component is a TV andthe second component is an audio client component.
 31. The interfaces ofclaim 10, wherein the first component is a TV and the second componentis an audio client component.
 32. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a server having a third network interface communicating withthe network, wherein the first component is a TV and the secondcomponent is an audio client component.
 33. The system of claim 22,further comprising a server having a third network interfacecommunicating with the network, wherein the first component is a TV andthe second component is an audio client component.